Tag: Haryana Police

  • Social media accounts suspended, govt trying to suppress our voice: Farmer leader Pandher

    Farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher on Friday accused the Centre of trying to “suppress” the voices of the protesters, claiming social media accounts of farmers and YouTubers have been suspended. Protesting farmers have stayed put at Shambhu and Khanauri points on Punjab’s border with Haryana for the fourth day after their ‘Delhi Chalo’ march to press the Centre for various demands, including a legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for crops, was stopped by security forces which led to clashes.

    Union ministers and farmer leaders met on February 8, 12 and 15 to discuss the farmer unions’ demands but the talks remained inconclusive. The two sides will meet again on February 18 for a fourth round of talks.

    Talking to reporters on Friday, Pandher said that during the meeting with Union ministers a day ago, “we raised the issue of the suspension of Internet and Twitter (now X) handles of farmer leaders”. Also alleging that the government has suspended the accounts of around 70 YouTubers who were showing farmers’ protest, he said it appears “the government wants to suppress our voice.”

    Pandher said that during the talks with the Union ministers, they raised the issue of the use of “force” against farmers by the paramilitary personnel deployed at the Punjab-Haryana border who fired tear gas shells at the protesters.

    He claimed that around 70 farmers have sustained serious injuries in an action by Haryana security personnel at Shambhu and Khanauri borders. The farmer leader said the talks with the Union ministers were held in a positive atmosphere and various demands of the protesters, including a law on MSP and debt waiver, were discussed. The government said they wanted to continue talks, Pandher said, adding that their ‘Delhi Chalo’ call still stands and the protesters were staying put at the Punjab-Haryana border so that a solution emerges through talks.

    On Thursday, Pandher said during the meeting with ministers they raised the issue of tear gas shelling by the paramilitary forces on farmers at the Shambhu and Khanuri borders. He said they showed the shells to the ministers during the meeting.

    Haryana Police on Friday again fired tear gas shells to disperse the protesting farmers when they moved towards the barricades at the Shambhu border near Ambala.

    Farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal demanded the release of farmers who were either arrested or detained by the Haryana police.

    Besides a legal guarantee of MSP, the farmers are demanding the implementation of the Swaminathan Commission’s recommendations, pension for farmers and farm labourers, farm debt waiver, no hike in electricity tariff, withdrawal of police cases and “justice” for the victims of the 2021 Lakhimpur Kheri violence, reinstatement of the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, and compensation to the families of the farmers who died during a previous agitation in 2020-21.

    (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)

  • Nuh violence: 44 FIRs & 139 arrests, Haryana Police action continues

    By IANS

    GURUGRAM: The Haryana Police have filed 44 FIRs and arrested 139 culprits so far to investigate the communal riots that broke out in Nuh and Gurugram districts.

    Tension prevailed in both districts where police and central forces have been deployed in large numbers to keep the situation under control.

    The police action was going on against those who indulged and spread the violence that broke out on July 31. So far 44 FIRs have been registered and 139 have been arrested, including 23 on Wednesday night in connection with the Nuh riots.

    In Nuh, the curfew has been relaxed from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

    To ensure a thorough investigation into the clashes, 10 special investigation teams (SITs) will be formed to probe the registered cases in Nuh. These SITs will investigate five FIRs each.

    ALSO READ | Haryana violence: Paramilitary forces conduct flag march in Nuh amid curfew

    They would also investigate the provocative videos posted by cow vigilantes like Monu Manesar.

    Manu and other vigilantes, accused of instigating the Nuh mobs, are absconding ever since the clashes.

    Prashant Panwar, deputy commissioner of Nuh, said all efforts are being made to maintain law and order in Nuh.

    “Senior officers have been deployed in Nuh and the police have been directed to strictly deal with anybody violating orders of the administration. A search operation is being conducted to arrest the absconding people,” he said.

    Seven persons, including two home guards and a cleric, died in the clashes that erupted in Nuh and spread to Gurugram. Violence broke out during a procession in Nuh on July 31, after which curfew was imposed in the area.

    READ MORE | Another mosque set on fire in Haryana’s Nuh amidst ongoing violence

    Along with this, the Internet was also banned then. Section-144 is still imposed in Nuh, Gurugram, Faridabad, Palwal, and Jhajjar districts.

    Panwar said that 14 companies of the police force were on the ground to deal with any untoward incidents while educational institutions will remain closed till further orders.

    Apart from this, to maintain law and order in Nuh, 10 duty magistrates, and six special duty magistrates have been appointed area-wise by the district administration.

    “There are 14 companies of police force on the field and patrolling the key locations throughout the day. Key areas have been barricaded. Teams of cybercrime police stations are keeping an eye on social media platforms. Anyone who will be found involved in spreading misinformation will be punished strictly,” Narendra Singh Bijarnia, SP Nuh, said.

    GURUGRAM: The Haryana Police have filed 44 FIRs and arrested 139 culprits so far to investigate the communal riots that broke out in Nuh and Gurugram districts.

    Tension prevailed in both districts where police and central forces have been deployed in large numbers to keep the situation under control.

    The police action was going on against those who indulged and spread the violence that broke out on July 31. So far 44 FIRs have been registered and 139 have been arrested, including 23 on Wednesday night in connection with the Nuh riots.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    In Nuh, the curfew has been relaxed from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.

    To ensure a thorough investigation into the clashes, 10 special investigation teams (SITs) will be formed to probe the registered cases in Nuh. These SITs will investigate five FIRs each.

    ALSO READ | Haryana violence: Paramilitary forces conduct flag march in Nuh amid curfew

    They would also investigate the provocative videos posted by cow vigilantes like Monu Manesar.

    Manu and other vigilantes, accused of instigating the Nuh mobs, are absconding ever since the clashes.

    Prashant Panwar, deputy commissioner of Nuh, said all efforts are being made to maintain law and order in Nuh.

    “Senior officers have been deployed in Nuh and the police have been directed to strictly deal with anybody violating orders of the administration. A search operation is being conducted to arrest the absconding people,” he said.

    Seven persons, including two home guards and a cleric, died in the clashes that erupted in Nuh and spread to Gurugram. Violence broke out during a procession in Nuh on July 31, after which curfew was imposed in the area.

    READ MORE | Another mosque set on fire in Haryana’s Nuh amidst ongoing violence

    Along with this, the Internet was also banned then. Section-144 is still imposed in Nuh, Gurugram, Faridabad, Palwal, and Jhajjar districts.

    Panwar said that 14 companies of the police force were on the ground to deal with any untoward incidents while educational institutions will remain closed till further orders.

    Apart from this, to maintain law and order in Nuh, 10 duty magistrates, and six special duty magistrates have been appointed area-wise by the district administration.

    “There are 14 companies of police force on the field and patrolling the key locations throughout the day. Key areas have been barricaded. Teams of cybercrime police stations are keeping an eye on social media platforms. Anyone who will be found involved in spreading misinformation will be punished strictly,” Narendra Singh Bijarnia, SP Nuh, said.

  • Haryana women’s panel chief threatening cop with probe caught on camera

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: An ugly spat took place between the chairperson of the Haryana State Commission for Women and a woman police officer over a case of marital dispute with the panel head asking the cop to “get out” and warning her of initiating a departmental inquiry.

    The alleged incident took place on Friday in Haryana’s Kaithal during a meeting of the state women’s panel chief Renu Bhatia with police officers.

    In the video, Bhatia is seen asking the woman police officer, “You could have slapped him (the man) tightly. You got the girl checked (medically) thrice. Get out! There will be a departmental inquiry against you.”

    When the officer protested, Bhatia said she got the woman medically examined thrice but not the man.

    As the officer tried to respond, Bhatia directed the SHO to escort her outside.

    “We have not come here to get insulted,” the officer replied.

    In response, Bhatia asked, “Are you here to get the girl insulted?” As the argument continued and the officer asked how she had insulted the woman, Bhatia again asked her why she had got the woman examined thrice.

    “Do not argue with me and go out,” Bhatia is seen in the video telling the woman police officer.

    The officer was then escorted out of the meeting room by a fellow police official.

    Bhatia had earlier ordered a medical examination of the man and was unhappy over the officer not following her order.

    Later, speaking to reporters, Bhatia said the man would undergo a medical examination.

    “You saw how she (the woman police officer) spoke when I asked her why she did not get the medical examination (of the man) conducted,” Bhatia told reporters.

    CHANDIGARH: An ugly spat took place between the chairperson of the Haryana State Commission for Women and a woman police officer over a case of marital dispute with the panel head asking the cop to “get out” and warning her of initiating a departmental inquiry.

    The alleged incident took place on Friday in Haryana’s Kaithal during a meeting of the state women’s panel chief Renu Bhatia with police officers.

    In the video, Bhatia is seen asking the woman police officer, “You could have slapped him (the man) tightly. You got the girl checked (medically) thrice. Get out! There will be a departmental inquiry against you.”

    When the officer protested, Bhatia said she got the woman medically examined thrice but not the man.

    As the officer tried to respond, Bhatia directed the SHO to escort her outside.

    “We have not come here to get insulted,” the officer replied.

    In response, Bhatia asked, “Are you here to get the girl insulted?” As the argument continued and the officer asked how she had insulted the woman, Bhatia again asked her why she had got the woman examined thrice.

    “Do not argue with me and go out,” Bhatia is seen in the video telling the woman police officer.

    The officer was then escorted out of the meeting room by a fellow police official.

    Bhatia had earlier ordered a medical examination of the man and was unhappy over the officer not following her order.

    Later, speaking to reporters, Bhatia said the man would undergo a medical examination.

    “You saw how she (the woman police officer) spoke when I asked her why she did not get the medical examination (of the man) conducted,” Bhatia told reporters.

  • Haryana Police visits Sonali Phogat’s farmhouse in Hisar to investigate theft complaint

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: Haryana Police on Tuesday visited the farmhouse of BJP leader Sonali Phogat to probe a complaint of theft lodged by her family members.

    Phogat, a former Tik Tok star from Hisar in Haryana and a contestant on the reality TV show “Big Boss”, was brought dead to a hospital in north Goa on August 23, a day after arriving in the coastal state with two of her male companions.

    Her family alleged that a laptop, digital video recorder of the CCTV cameras and some documents were stolen from the farmhouse recently, police said.

    They claimed that Shivam, an aide of the BJP leader’s associate Sudhir Sangwan, had taken these things from the farmhouse after the news of her death on August 23.

    The family also met Hisar’s Superintendent of Police Lokender Singh and demanded a thorough probe into the matter.

    “A theft case was registered on their complaint a few days ago. We have assured them of a thorough investigation in the case is on,” Singh told reporters in Hisar on Tuesday.

    When asked what was the complaint, Singh said, “It has been stated that at the behest of one of her associates, his subordinate Shivam, who worked as an accountant, stole some documents, a laptop and other articles from the farmhouse”.

    A Hisar police official also visited the farmhouse in connection with the investigations in the case.

    While Phogat’s family has raised suspicion of foul play in her death, her teenage daughter Yashodhara reiterated their demand of a CBI probe into the incident.

    “We want a CBI probe. We want justice,” she said.

    The Goa Police have so far arrested five persons, including two of Phogat’s associates, in connection with the case.

    Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday said in Panaji the investigation into the case would now be conducted by a deputy superintendent of police-rank officer.

    The probe into the case was earlier conducted by a police inspector-level officer.

    Haryana’s Home Minister Anil Vij had on Monday said the state government has written to the Goa government requesting it to recommend a CBI probe into the death of the BJP leader.

    The move came after Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar gave an assurance to Phogat’s family members who met him at his residence here on Saturday evening and sought a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into her death.

    CHANDIGARH: Haryana Police on Tuesday visited the farmhouse of BJP leader Sonali Phogat to probe a complaint of theft lodged by her family members.

    Phogat, a former Tik Tok star from Hisar in Haryana and a contestant on the reality TV show “Big Boss”, was brought dead to a hospital in north Goa on August 23, a day after arriving in the coastal state with two of her male companions.

    Her family alleged that a laptop, digital video recorder of the CCTV cameras and some documents were stolen from the farmhouse recently, police said.

    They claimed that Shivam, an aide of the BJP leader’s associate Sudhir Sangwan, had taken these things from the farmhouse after the news of her death on August 23.

    The family also met Hisar’s Superintendent of Police Lokender Singh and demanded a thorough probe into the matter.

    “A theft case was registered on their complaint a few days ago. We have assured them of a thorough investigation in the case is on,” Singh told reporters in Hisar on Tuesday.

    When asked what was the complaint, Singh said, “It has been stated that at the behest of one of her associates, his subordinate Shivam, who worked as an accountant, stole some documents, a laptop and other articles from the farmhouse”.

    A Hisar police official also visited the farmhouse in connection with the investigations in the case.

    While Phogat’s family has raised suspicion of foul play in her death, her teenage daughter Yashodhara reiterated their demand of a CBI probe into the incident.

    “We want a CBI probe. We want justice,” she said.

    The Goa Police have so far arrested five persons, including two of Phogat’s associates, in connection with the case.

    Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday said in Panaji the investigation into the case would now be conducted by a deputy superintendent of police-rank officer.

    The probe into the case was earlier conducted by a police inspector-level officer.

    Haryana’s Home Minister Anil Vij had on Monday said the state government has written to the Goa government requesting it to recommend a CBI probe into the death of the BJP leader.

    The move came after Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar gave an assurance to Phogat’s family members who met him at his residence here on Saturday evening and sought a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into her death.

  • ‘Accused who made threat calls to MLAs have Pakistan, Middle East links’: Haryana Police

    By PTI

    CHANDIGARH: Seven people arrested for allegedly giving death threats and making extortion calls to several MLAs had accomplices in Pakistan and some countries in the Middle East, the Haryana Police said on Saturday.

    Four MLAs of Haryana, three from Punjab and two from Delhi had recently received threat calls from the accused.

    The accused — Amit Yadav alias Radheshyam Kumar Yadav, Saddiq Anwar, Sanoj Kumar, Kaish Alam, Dulesh Alam, Badre Alam and Abulesh Alam — were arrested recently.

    During investigation, it was found that the accomplices of the accused were Iqbal Kaish Alam, Sadiq and Rakesh in the Middle East and Ali, Nazir, Wasim, Shabbir, Imran, M D Khan and Rafiq in Pakistan.

    The accused tried to extort money from the dignitaries in a planned manner by claiming to be local gangsters, the police said in a statement.

    The arrested accused, Kaish Alam, had lived in Dubai for about three years.

    WhatsApp chats among some of the accused revealed that in the last eight months 867 transactions were made through 727 bank accounts, and a transaction of about Rs 2.77 crore was detected, the police said.

    All these bank accounts were operated by Iqbal Kaish Alam, Sadiq, Rakesh, Ali, Nazir, Wasim, Shabbir, Imran, MD Khan and Rafiq sitting in Pakistan and Middle East countries, they said.

    These bank accounts have been frozen.

    The money received by fraudsters using these bank accounts is sent to Pakistan through hawala, the police said, adding that further investigation in the matter was underway.

    CHANDIGARH: Seven people arrested for allegedly giving death threats and making extortion calls to several MLAs had accomplices in Pakistan and some countries in the Middle East, the Haryana Police said on Saturday.

    Four MLAs of Haryana, three from Punjab and two from Delhi had recently received threat calls from the accused.

    The accused — Amit Yadav alias Radheshyam Kumar Yadav, Saddiq Anwar, Sanoj Kumar, Kaish Alam, Dulesh Alam, Badre Alam and Abulesh Alam — were arrested recently.

    During investigation, it was found that the accomplices of the accused were Iqbal Kaish Alam, Sadiq and Rakesh in the Middle East and Ali, Nazir, Wasim, Shabbir, Imran, M D Khan and Rafiq in Pakistan.

    The accused tried to extort money from the dignitaries in a planned manner by claiming to be local gangsters, the police said in a statement.

    The arrested accused, Kaish Alam, had lived in Dubai for about three years.

    WhatsApp chats among some of the accused revealed that in the last eight months 867 transactions were made through 727 bank accounts, and a transaction of about Rs 2.77 crore was detected, the police said.

    All these bank accounts were operated by Iqbal Kaish Alam, Sadiq, Rakesh, Ali, Nazir, Wasim, Shabbir, Imran, MD Khan and Rafiq sitting in Pakistan and Middle East countries, they said.

    These bank accounts have been frozen.

    The money received by fraudsters using these bank accounts is sent to Pakistan through hawala, the police said, adding that further investigation in the matter was underway.

  • Haryana DSP killed by mining mafia during raid, one arrested; political blame game starts

    Express News Service

    CHANDIGARH:  The strong tentacles of the mining mafia involved in illegal quarrying in the Aravali hills were revealed once again on Monday night, when a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) of Haryana Police was killed during a raid at Pachgaon in Nuh district near Delhi. One of the accused was arrested by the police soon after the incident.

    Police sources said Surender Singh, the DSP of Tauru, was killed around 12 am by a dumper driver when he tried to stop the vehicle to check the papers. Singh and his team had conducted a raid on the illegal mining activity going on in the Pachgaon area.

    Singh, along with his driver and gunman, noticed a suspicious dumper and signalled it to stop, but the driver steered the vehicle in their direction.

    Singh’s driver and gunman jumped aside, but the officer was crushed under the dumper. He was rushed to a hospital where doctors declared him brought dead.

    Hours after the officer’s death, police said the truck’s cleaner was arrested after being shot at and injured during an encounter with them.

    The DSP had gone to Pachgaon near Tauru to conduct raids against illegal mining in Aravalli hills when he spotted the truck at 11.50 am.

    According to the FIR registered later, the policemen chased the truck in their own vehicle as it drove into a hilly patch, its driver ignoring their signal to stop.

    But the truck got stuck.

    The crew then began dumping the stones it was carrying to avoid being ‘challaned’.

    When the DSP and his colleagues approached the truck on foot, driver Mittar and cleaner Ikkar allegedly brandished country-made weapons and then deliberately drove towards them, police said.

    “As the dumper started, we jumped out of the way but DSP Surendra sir was hit and they fled”, ASI Kumar said in the FIR.

    Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar promised tough action while the Congress demanded his resignation.

    “In the murder case of Tauru DSP Surendra Singh, orders have been given to take strict action.

    Not a single culprit will be spared,” Khattar tweeted in Hindi.

    Haryana’s Director General of Police P K Agrawal visited the spot in Nuh and told reporters that a case of murder has been registered.

    “I am told one suspect has been arrested after an encounter with police. The suspect has sustained a bullet injury in his leg and has been nabbed,” he said.

    Police later identified the arrested man as the truck’s cleaner, who was admitted at Nuh’s Nalhar Medical College.

    Initial reports had suggested that the man caught was the driver.

    “Other accused will be nabbed soon. All culprits involved in this will be dealt with strictly as per the law. The Haryana police will not spare any culprit,” the DGP said.

    He said police teams are conducting raids to track down others involved in the killing.

    The officer was recruited as an assistant sub-inspector in Haryana Police in 1994 and was to retire in three months.

    He lived with his family in Kurukshetra and hailed from Sarangpur village in Hisar district.

    Singh is survived by his wife, a daughter and a son, according to his brother Ashok Kumar with whom he had talked over the phone a few hours earlier.

    Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij said, “All the accused will be caught and not spared even if the police of the entire Nuh district and surrounding districts have to be engaged in this task.”

    The state government said it has been taking stringent steps to check illegal mining, and set up district-level task forces.

    A spokesperson said 138 FIRs have been registered in the state for illegal mining so far in the financial year 2022-23.

    In Nuh district alone, 23 FIRs were registered and 68 vehicles seized.

    Both sand and stone are illegally quarried at places in the state.

    In Delhi, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh demanded an independent probe into the “heart-wrenching incident”.

    “After this shameful incident, the chief minister of the state, Manohar Lal Khattar, has no moral right to continue on his post and he should resign immediately,” Ramesh said in a statement.

    Senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala demanded a judicial inquiry.

    “Does the chief minister not know that a mining mafia is flourishing from Yamunanagar to Nuh and Mewat? Why is the government acting like a mute spectator?” he said.

    Leader of Opposition in Haryana Assembly, Bhupinder Singh Hooda claimed that law and order has collapsed in the state.

    “We have been repeatedly saying that common people are feeling unsafe, and recently, many MLAs have also received threats. It appears that the government is non-existent and there is no rule of law,” Hooda, a former CM, said.

    “Extremely sad,” Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal tweeted.

    ““The murder of a police officer in Haryana is the result of the failure of the entire government system in Haryana. How will the public be safe where the police is not safe?”” he said.

    The police have arrested one of the accused, identified as Ikkar, a resident of Panchgaon village, who was a cleaner on the dumper.

    The crime branch team nabbed Ikkar after a brief exchange of fire, during which the accused was shot in the leg.

    He has been admitted to Nalhar Medical College, Nuh. Efforts are on to arrest the absconding accused, the police said.

    The Nuh district is notorious for attacks on policemen by the mining mafia.

    According to an officer, since 2015, about 50 complaints of illegal mining have being registered every year.

    Singh was recruited as an assistant sub-inspector in Haryana Police in 1994 and was due to retire in four months. He belonged to Sarangpur village in Hisar and lived with his family in Kurukshetra.

    (With PTI Inputs)

    CHANDIGARH:  The strong tentacles of the mining mafia involved in illegal quarrying in the Aravali hills were revealed once again on Monday night, when a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) of Haryana Police was killed during a raid at Pachgaon in Nuh district near Delhi. One of the accused was arrested by the police soon after the incident.

    Police sources said Surender Singh, the DSP of Tauru, was killed around 12 am by a dumper driver when he tried to stop the vehicle to check the papers. Singh and his team had conducted a raid on the illegal mining activity going on in the Pachgaon area.

    Singh, along with his driver and gunman, noticed a suspicious dumper and signalled it to stop, but the driver steered the vehicle in their direction.

    Singh’s driver and gunman jumped aside, but the officer was crushed under the dumper. He was rushed to a hospital where doctors declared him brought dead.

    Hours after the officer’s death, police said the truck’s cleaner was arrested after being shot at and injured during an encounter with them.

    The DSP had gone to Pachgaon near Tauru to conduct raids against illegal mining in Aravalli hills when he spotted the truck at 11.50 am.

    According to the FIR registered later, the policemen chased the truck in their own vehicle as it drove into a hilly patch, its driver ignoring their signal to stop.

    But the truck got stuck.

    The crew then began dumping the stones it was carrying to avoid being ‘challaned’.

    When the DSP and his colleagues approached the truck on foot, driver Mittar and cleaner Ikkar allegedly brandished country-made weapons and then deliberately drove towards them, police said.

    “As the dumper started, we jumped out of the way but DSP Surendra sir was hit and they fled”, ASI Kumar said in the FIR.

    Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar promised tough action while the Congress demanded his resignation.

    “In the murder case of Tauru DSP Surendra Singh, orders have been given to take strict action.

    Not a single culprit will be spared,” Khattar tweeted in Hindi.

    Haryana’s Director General of Police P K Agrawal visited the spot in Nuh and told reporters that a case of murder has been registered.

    “I am told one suspect has been arrested after an encounter with police. The suspect has sustained a bullet injury in his leg and has been nabbed,” he said.

    Police later identified the arrested man as the truck’s cleaner, who was admitted at Nuh’s Nalhar Medical College.

    Initial reports had suggested that the man caught was the driver.

    “Other accused will be nabbed soon. All culprits involved in this will be dealt with strictly as per the law. The Haryana police will not spare any culprit,” the DGP said.

    He said police teams are conducting raids to track down others involved in the killing.

    The officer was recruited as an assistant sub-inspector in Haryana Police in 1994 and was to retire in three months.

    He lived with his family in Kurukshetra and hailed from Sarangpur village in Hisar district.

    Singh is survived by his wife, a daughter and a son, according to his brother Ashok Kumar with whom he had talked over the phone a few hours earlier.

    Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij said, “All the accused will be caught and not spared even if the police of the entire Nuh district and surrounding districts have to be engaged in this task.”

    The state government said it has been taking stringent steps to check illegal mining, and set up district-level task forces.

    A spokesperson said 138 FIRs have been registered in the state for illegal mining so far in the financial year 2022-23.

    In Nuh district alone, 23 FIRs were registered and 68 vehicles seized.

    Both sand and stone are illegally quarried at places in the state.

    In Delhi, Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh demanded an independent probe into the “heart-wrenching incident”.

    “After this shameful incident, the chief minister of the state, Manohar Lal Khattar, has no moral right to continue on his post and he should resign immediately,” Ramesh said in a statement.

    Senior Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala demanded a judicial inquiry.

    “Does the chief minister not know that a mining mafia is flourishing from Yamunanagar to Nuh and Mewat? Why is the government acting like a mute spectator?” he said.

    Leader of Opposition in Haryana Assembly, Bhupinder Singh Hooda claimed that law and order has collapsed in the state.

    “We have been repeatedly saying that common people are feeling unsafe, and recently, many MLAs have also received threats. It appears that the government is non-existent and there is no rule of law,” Hooda, a former CM, said.

    “Extremely sad,” Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal tweeted.

    ““The murder of a police officer in Haryana is the result of the failure of the entire government system in Haryana. How will the public be safe where the police is not safe?”” he said.

    The police have arrested one of the accused, identified as Ikkar, a resident of Panchgaon village, who was a cleaner on the dumper.

    The crime branch team nabbed Ikkar after a brief exchange of fire, during which the accused was shot in the leg.

    He has been admitted to Nalhar Medical College, Nuh. Efforts are on to arrest the absconding accused, the police said.

    The Nuh district is notorious for attacks on policemen by the mining mafia.

    According to an officer, since 2015, about 50 complaints of illegal mining have being registered every year.

    Singh was recruited as an assistant sub-inspector in Haryana Police in 1994 and was due to retire in four months. He belonged to Sarangpur village in Hisar and lived with his family in Kurukshetra.

    (With PTI Inputs)

  • Namaz row: Former Rajya Sabha MP moves SC, seeks action against Haryana officials

    By PTI

    GURUGRAM: A former Rajya Sabha MP has approached the Supreme Court, seeking action against the Haryana DGP and the chief secretary over the “namaz” row here.

    The move has drawn a sharp reaction from a right-wing outfit, who accused him of “instigating” people and warned against prayers in the open on Friday.

    The petition has been filed by Mohammed Adeeb, also a resident of Gurugram.

    He accused the state chief secretary and the DGP of failing to comply with court’s directions regarding measures to curb communal and violent sentiments that result in hate crimes.

    The petition seeks action against Chief Secretary Sanjeev Kaushal, DGP P K Agrawal and others.

    “The communal fabric of the state has been torn apart and despite being mandated by court numerous times, they have allowed it to happen,” Adeeb told PTI.

    “These incidents are being done at the behest of identifiable hooligans trying to create an atmosphere of hatred and prejudice against one community and sadly all that we see is serious inaction on the part of state machinery,” he said.

    I had moved to the court on Wednesday and hope for strict action, he added.

    Reacting to it, the Sanyukt Hindu Sangharsh Samiti accused him and a documentary maker of trying to “mislead” and “instigate” people.

    The organisation also issued warning against “namaz” in the open on Friday.

    Samiti president Mahaveer Bhardwaj said till an amicable solution is not reached, “namaz” should only be offered in mosques and homes.

    “We are not attacking religion but ‘land jihad’, where some elements are trying to encroach upon public land,” he said.

    Both the police commissioner and the deputy commissioner refused to comment on the issue.

  • Singhu border lynching: Haryana Police detains one person in Sonipat

    By ANI

    SONIPAT: Haryana Police on Friday detained one person in Sonipat in connection with the Singhu border incident where a corpse was found hanging with hands and legs chopped at the spot where farmers’ protest is underway.

    “The person has been detained from Kundli in Sonipat. An FIR has been lodged,” said police.

    ALSO READ | ‘Opposed to any form of violence’: Samyukta Kisan Morcha on Singhu border ‘gruesome killing’

    Earlier on Friday, a corpse of a man, with hands and legs chopped off, was found hanging on a police barricade at the farmers’ protest site near the Singhu border, said Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Hansraj.

    “An FIR has been registered in the case,” said the DSP.

    The man has been identified as Lakhbir Singh resident of village Cheema Khurd in Tarn Taran district of Punjab. The deceased, about 35-36 years old, who used to work as a labourer, has no criminal record or affiliation with any political party, informed the police.

  • Unidentified young man brutally murdered at the Singhu border

    By Express News Service

    CHANDIGARH: In a shocking incident a  young man was brutally murdered at the Singhu border for allegedly desecrating Guru Granth Sahib – the holy book of the Sikh community. The victim’s left wrist was found cut off and was found tied to an overturned police barricade near the main stage of the protesting farmers.

    A video has gone viral which shows a group of Nihangs (Sikhs warrior group) standing over the man. They are being blamed for the brutal murder which took place on early Friday morning at the protest site in Kundli of Sonipat district of Haryana.

    Some of the Nihangs, who were carrying spears are seen asking the person to tell his name and village of residence. While the man was seen hanging with his wrist cut off and bleeding, nobody around was offering any help. 

    Sources claim that the Nihangs beat up this person to death who is yet to be identified for allegedly desecrating the Guru Granth Sahib. It is alleged that they later hung his body upside down on the police barricade

    The police was not allowed to enter the area initially but Haryana Police was later able to move the body to the Civil Hospital.

    The incident has already caused huge outrage among the farmers.

    BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya was quick to react and criticise farmers’ leader Rakesh Tikait over the incident .”Had Rakesh Tikait not justified mob lynching in Lakhimpur, with Yogendra Yadav sitting next to him and maintaining sanctimonious silence, the gory murder of a youth at Kundali border would not have happened. Anarchists behind these protests in the name of farmers need to be exposed,’’ he tweeted.

    Meanwhile, the Haryana Police has registered a case. “We got information early in the morning that a person has been murdered and his body is left hanging near the main stage where the farmers are protesting. A case has been registered against unknown persons and investigation is on,’’ said a police official.

  • Man brutally murdered at Singhu border, Nihang surrenders before police

    Express News Service

    CHANDIGARH:  In a shocking incident, a 35- year-old man belonging to the Scheduled Caste community was lynched, his left wrist cut off and his mutilated body was found tied to a police barricade near the main protest site at Singhu near the Delhi- Haryana border on Friday.

    The victim, Lakhbir Singh, hailing from Cheema Khurd village in Punjab’s Tarn Taran, was working for the Nihang Sikhs as a volunteer, police said. The Samyukta Ki san Morcha said the Nihangs have claimed responsibility for the killing saying the man tried to desecrate the Sarbloh Granth, the holy book of the Sikhs. Singh was reportedly tied with ropes to a police barricade and his hand was chopped off.

    Deep wounds were inflicted on his legs also. Initially, he was hanged upside down. After he bled to death, his body was positioned upright, sources said. A Nihang, Sarabjeet Singh, has surrendered before the police taking responsibility for the killing.

    BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya was quick to react and criticise farmers’ leader Rakesh Tikait over the incident .”Had Rakesh Tikait not justified mob lynching in Lakhimpur, with Yogendra Yadav sitting next to him and maintaining sanctimonious silence, the gory murder of a youth at Kundali border would not have happened. Anarchists behind these protests in the name of farmers need to be exposed,’’ he tweeted.